Aged Syrah Tasting Notes
Aged Syrah is a bit of a rare beast. Not much that is ageable is made to begin with, and much of that gets drunk in its youth anyway. So what is aged Syrah like and when is the right time to drink it?
For more information on when to drink, check out On Aging Syrah Wine.
At their best, aged Syrah wines combine the delicacy of Burgundy and the aromatic complexity of Barolo with a power all their own. No wonder they rank among my top three wines! Bet you can guess the other two.
Increasingly, the balance that Syrah is capable of is being traded in for more power. As you might know, I am not a fan of the more-is-always-better style of wine making.
These aged examples from a recent tasting all were remarkably well balanced and helped to illustrate the middle age portion of Syrah’s life cycle.
For more information on when to drink, check out On Aging Syrah Wine.
At their best, aged Syrah wines combine the delicacy of Burgundy and the aromatic complexity of Barolo with a power all their own. No wonder they rank among my top three wines! Bet you can guess the other two.
Increasingly, the balance that Syrah is capable of is being traded in for more power. As you might know, I am not a fan of the more-is-always-better style of wine making.
These aged examples from a recent tasting all were remarkably well balanced and helped to illustrate the middle age portion of Syrah’s life cycle.
In this gallery
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Aged Syrah Tasting Notes
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A Pair of 1988s
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1988 Edmunds St John Sonoma Syrah
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1988 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde
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1994 Was a Very Good Year
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1994 Columbia Crest Reserve Syrah
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1994 Swanson Napa Valley Syrah
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The 1995 Vintage
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1995 Delas les Bessards Hermitage
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1995 Charles Melton Barossa Shiraz
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The 1996 Vintage
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1996 Chave Hermitage
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1996 Columbia Winery Red Willow Vineyard Syrah
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On the Ageability of Syrah
Comments
Lightly smoked wild boar ribs, eh? Well, if I ever convince a certain winery owner in Sonoma County to let me hunt boar on his property--let's say the odds of there being boar are better than good, but the odds of convincing him a little lower--we'll invite you and we'll try some syrah from the same sub appellation with it.
BTW, can't help noticing you got that ESJ wine on sale! A good deal at either price, but 22.99 was a lot more when that was released than it seems like it is now.
Feb 23, 2012 at 7:39 PM
Dal Piaz
That sounds like a delicious deal!
And I think the 22.99 sticker was placed there to help convince me that the 12.99 price was a good deal!
Feb 23, 2012 at 8:09 PM
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